Sacred Heart University's Nick Greenbacker puts up a shot as he is defended by Chris Baskerville during Thursday's game against Central Connecticut State University in Fairfield on January 13, 2011.
Photo: Lindsay Niegelberg, ST

"I can definitely beat coach Bike in a foot race," the 6-foot-9 redshirt senior said with a chuckle. "I don't know why he's always saying that. Whenever we do sprints, I'm right in the middle of the pack, so I don't understand where his criticism of that comes from.

"I might not beat the guards, but I more than keep up with the forwards on our team."

Greenbacker's actual speed might remain a great debate, but the Pioneers didn't recruit the former East Catholic star for being nimble of foot. Even though he scored more than 1,000 points and went to two state finals at East Catholic, Greenbacker's impact at SHU doesn't always show up in a box score.

Going into the season, Greenbacker has averaged just over three points and two rebounds per game.

"I think Nick brings a lot more to the table (than just being able to play basketball)," SHU assistant coach Anthony Latina said. "He brings leadership and other intangible qualities."

Those leadership skills have earned him the captaincy of the Pioneers for a second straight year, and his teammates didn't bestow that honor as a result of a popularity contest.

"One of the main reasons he is voted by his peers is they see how Nick goes about his business and off the court," Latina said. "He does things the right way ... gives maximum effort and does it in a positive way."

Greenbacker has certainly made the most of his opportunity at SHU, including being the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average ever with the men's program. He graduated with a degree in business administration with just over a 3.9 average in three years and will earn his master's in that field on March 25.

"He has a nicer office than I do," Latina remarked. "I always joke with Nick that he's squeezed every penny out of that scholarship in terms of degrees, networking and (getting the most of his college experience)."

Greenbacker, who turns 23 in December, admits he was a good, but not great student in high school. However, that changed when he arrived on the Fairfield campus.

"I brought in six credits from high school ... and I knew from the beginning that I wanted to get my MBA," he said. "I've had a full course load the entire time and took advantage of those summer classes and was able to get my MBA in two years."

But instead of gloating about his academic accomplishments, Greenbacker quickly changes the subject to one of his teammates, sophomore Phil Gaetano.

"I think Phil Gaetano is going to be able to do that, too, because he came in with a lot more credits than I did," Greenbacker said. "He took a lot of (Advanced Placement) classes, so he had a lot of credits coming in and I'm pretty sure he'll be able to get his MBA, too."

While Greenbacker's future is bright, and includes aspirations to maybe play professionally overseas, right now he remains focused on leading the Pioneers to a successful season. Sacred Heart was picked sixth in the NEC preseason poll, but has a veteran squad that includes another fifth-year senior in Shane Gibson.

"We lost a lot of the close games last year, but we competed with everyone in the league," he said. "The key is we are a year older and we have definitely improved, but unfortunately (a lot of teams have veteran rosters). So it's not a matter of improving, but whether or not we have improved more than the other teams have."

The Pioneers won't be able to answer that question until the season starts, but one thing they can depend on is that Greenbacker will be ready to go either off the bench or in the starting lineup while Justin Swidowski (shoulder) recovers.

"It's a luxury having veteran players around," Latina said. "He's going to do what he needs to do. You know what to expect from Nick. He'll give you everything he's got."